Source: Susan Kelly, MEATINGPLACE, 7/27/18



Seven groups representing meat and poultry producers and processors have written directly to U.S. President Donald Trump urging that USDA be given authority for regulating cell-cultured protein products.

Such products should be held to the same rigorous food safety and labeling standards as meat and poultry under the regulatory system administered by USDA, the groups asserted.

“Cell-cultured protein products that purport to be meat or poultry should be subject to the same comprehensive inspection system that governs other amenable meat and poultry products to ensure they are wholesome and safe for consumption, and to ensure they are labeled and marketed in a manner that provides a level playing field in the marketplace,” the groups said.

The American Farm Bureau Federation, American Sheep Industry Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Chicken Council, National Pork Producers Council, National Turkey Federation and North American Meat Institute signed the letter.
They noted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicated plans to assert itself as the primary regulator of cell-cultured products at a recent public meeting that FDA excluded USDA from attending.

FDA’s “power grab” comes on the heels of the White House’s recently released government reorganization plan that included moving primary federal food safety functions into a single agency housed within the USDA.

“Having cell-cultured protein products regulated by FDA is not only inconsistent with the meat and poultry inspection statutes, but also with the White House’s reorganization plan,” the groups said.